Thermal Insulated Curtains

Thermal curtains are one of those things that can be made by anybody who can sew and who has access to a sewing machine. Supposing that you already have window curtains, all you need to do is add an insulator lining and make sure to seal the ends of the curtain, in order to prevent air circulation nearby the windows. However, you should keep in mind that in case you have those lightweight, sheer, voile curtains, the lining will be visible from inside the room. In such cases, if you want to avoid that, the best solution is to add insulated drapes in front of the curtains, and keep them tied-back to the sides when not needed.

The first step in making a thermal curtain is measuring your windows. The curtain should be bigger than the windows, in order to provide an efficient insulation. Allow a few extra inches to the left and to the right, as well as at the bottom. There’s no need to have it touch the floor. In case you are not making the curtain from the scratch, but only lining an existent one, take it off the window and measure it, as the lining needs to be almost the same size – you can make it about one inch smaller, in order to avoid it becoming visible when hung at the windows. Here are two options: one is faster, but leaves the outer side of the curtain a bit uglier, as the seing will be visible. The other one is nicer but requires more attention when sewing: you first sew three edges, then flip the curtain and only then sew the final edge. In this way, the first three will be looking very nice and well finished. For the first case, the lining needs to be a bit smaller than the curtain, while for the second option, the two of them need to be exactly the same size.

The lining material with insulating properties can be found as such in home and garden stores, so you’ll have to buy it.

Cut the lining with great care, so it fits the curtain, then sew them together. Start with the top of the curtain, then sew the other edges. For the best result, it would be ideal that you use pins to fix the two fabrics together, then see if you did it correctly, and only after that proceed to assembling them together.

For optimal energy efficiency, your thermal curtains need to be attached to the walls, not only to the curtain rod. If you allow gaps between the curtain and the wall, there will be drafts that will push cold air inside the room. An excellent and very cheap way to fix the insulated curtain against the walls is Velcro tape. Another idea is to sew magnetic straps inside the lateral edges of the curtain, then have metallic straps attached on the walls. I don’t know how much this costs, but it can’t be as cheap as Velcro.

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